Eiko Ishibashi - Evil Does Not Exist

Not usually one for soundtracks to films I've not seen, but this latest from Eiko Ishibashi is quite the experience. Divorced from the visual/conceptual concept of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's film, Evil Does Not Exist functions effectively as a standalone work of modern composition, charged with subtle drama, poised tension and cathartic release. Films have soundtracks for a reason - to express what language can't - and Ishibashi has a knack for summoning the profound. Scoring for violin, cello, guitar, keyboards and drums, and working in collaboration with Jim O'Rourke, there's a compelling union of the expansive and the nuanced, where the grandiose emotional breadth of the title track shares space with the slow-moving grace of 'Missing', the latter a highlight in particular, 12 minutes of plaintive keys and concrete vocals that builds to a darkened percussive finale. Eiko and Hamaguchi's practice is said to be symbiotic (their relationship developed when the latter was invited to make a video for the former's work, and a silent film was borne from it), narrative and sound informing one another, which is perhaps why this music sounds so powerful on its own.